


Time Breakdown

by Xrangel



Category: Steins;Gate
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Gen, Tragedy, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2020-09-23 18:20:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20344588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xrangel/pseuds/Xrangel
Summary: Okabe Rintarou needs to save Mayuri from death. He can't let it end like this. The Time Leap machine seems like the perfect tool to save her, but when it suddenly malfunctions, Okabe has to deal with the repercussions. **Time loop story**





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Porting this over from FFN with grammar and wording polish.

“Okabe! Is this really okay?! Are you okay with time leaping?” Kurisu shouts while setting up the phonewave.

Smoke completely fills the room, making sight nearly impossible. The smoke in mention was produced by Future Gadget #4: Monad Snake. But the fact that I could barely see it was good. Maybe I won’t have to see any more of my friends get shot before I time leap. A chill runs down my spine as I recall Mayuri’s lifeless body, falling to the ground after being shot by Moeka.

Squinting through the fog, I grope for the headset to the Phonewave. After a few seconds, I finally find it and shove it onto my head. As soon as I do, I shout to Kurisu.

“Kurisu! Activate it!”

As soon as I did, a large shaking fills the room. The discharge phenomenon was starting! Through the smoke, rays of blue lightning snakes out from the Phonewave. I roughly shove the headgear on my head. Holding my phone up, I prepare to dial the Phonewave.

_ Mayuri! You will not die. I will save you! _

As soon as I finish that thought, a spray of bullets enter the room.

“Ah!”

While I couldn’t see it, I knew that Kurisu had just been shot. I feel warm liquid splash on my face - probably blood. Kurisu’s blood.

Yet another shower of bullets get shot through the smoke. A sharp pain comes from my cheek - I was probably grazed by a stray shot.

This was no time to wait around. I had to dial the Phonewave now! But as I was about to dial the Phonewave, the smoke started to dissipate. I see that there are yellow sparks mixed in with the blue lightning. Confused, I give the Phonewave a quick examination

…

_ Fuck. _

The Phonewave had been shot several times. Smoking holes appeared on the Phonewave’s panel. I could see several frayed wires poking out of the machine. That must have been what was producing the sparks.

“Okabe, what are you doing?! Hurry and time leap! This is no time to second guess yourself!” Kurisu shouts over the roar of gunfire.

She’s right. If I don’t time leap now then Mayuri would stay dead.

Before I wasted anymore time, I pushed my thumb onto the call button. The CRT downstairs was still on and the discharge phenomenon was active. It had to work.

The world starts bending. I can see the colors in my vision start distorting. It’s working!

“STOP!” I see one of Moeka’s men rush in the development room with his gun. Through the thinning veil of smoke, I see him raise his rifle and aim it directly at my forehead. His eyes were fierce and determined - I could tell that he was about to shoot me. There was zero hesitation on his face.

Right as I see his finger push the trigger down, the world goes dark.

* * *

…

_ So dark… _

_ So cold… _

_ What is this? Where am I? Where’s Mayuri? _

I can’t move anything. My whole body is numb. I try to scream but no noise comes out. It feels as if I was being dunked in frozen water. The horrible burning sensation that comes with extreme cold completely overwhelms my head. For some reason, that was the only part that was hurting. Everything else was just numb. Unpleasant tingling sensations run through my limbs.

_ painpainpainpainpainpain it hurts it hurts IT HURTS IT HURTS _

This was hell. 

There was no question about it. I tried to defy time and by extension tried to defy God’s will. I was probably shot by that guy before I could time leap. My soul was brought to hell for defying God.

Funny how most people think that hell is supposed to be hot. The typical imagery that comes with hell are totems of fire accompanied by screaming souls being tortured for all of eternity. But they were all wrong. Screams and fire does not await those who are damned. Instead, it’s a horrible silence and numbing cold.

Stuck in eternity in this void? I guess I deserve it.

Sorry Mayuri.

…

…

…

Then, after what seems like years, the air around me turns warm again. What was happening?

Slowly, sensation returns to my body. The numbness that had sunk into my nerves slowly recede as its quickly replaced by pain. It felt as if thousands of knives were stabbing me over and over again. My head was pounding so hard that I wouldn’t be surprised if it suddenly exploded. How could I be in this much pain? Slowly, I opened my eyes. The harsh glare of light burns into my retinas - I was too used to the complete darkness in that _ void _. I find myself staring at my phone.

I’m back at the lab.

The time leaped worked?

“Okabe? Are you okay? You’re shivering.”

Slowly, I turn my head to the left. Kurisu is staring at me with worried eyes. Seems like the time leap really did work after all, given that she didn’t have a bullet wound or blood anywhere on her. She was standing at the entrance of the lab. As warmth returns to my body, the pain finally recedes. Kurisu was right. I was shaking so much that I had even knocked down the Upa pillow that was placed on the sofa.

“N-No… I’m fine. I’m just feel- urp!” I try to say an excuse but a wave of nausea suddenly overtakes me. I jump out of the couch and run to the kitchen. I barely make it to the trash can when I started throwing up my insides. Strangely enough, my headache starts to dissipate as I vomit into the trash can.

“Okarin! What’s wrong with you dude? Did you eat some expired food or something?” Daru had been playing a visual novel on his computer. He looks at me over his shoulder with furrowed brows.

“N-Nothing. It’s nothing.” I manage to choke out. Blinking rapidly, I pull a handkerchief out of my coat pocket and wipe my mouth. “What’s the time and day?”

“Huh?” Daru manages to look even more perplexed. “What does that have to do with anyth-”

“Just tell me damn it!” I need to know how much time there was left before Moeka and her men attacked again.

“Well, it’s the 13th, a little past 5.”

Alright. If that was the case, I only had a few more hours until Moeka and her Rounders break into the lab. I needed to find Mayuri before the deadline came up. I bring my phone up to my ear and dial Mayuri’s number.

“Tutturu! Mayushii here.”

I hear Mayuri’s cheerful tune on the phone. The voice brings relief to my mind. She was safe. I had a second chance. 

“Mayuri!” I shout. “Where are y-”

“But I can’t answer the phone right now.”

Shit. It went to voicemail.

“Mayuri. Call me back as soon as possible, alright? Please.” I must have sounded pretty desperate because Kurisu narrows her eyes at me. Even if I didn’t sound desperate, I was admittedly acting pretty weird so I guess it was understandable.

“What’s going on Okabe? Is Mayuri okay?” Kurisu starts to question me. I had no time for this.

“You two, get out of the lab. Go back to your houses or hotels or whatever and stay there until tomorrow.” I spit these words out and ran out of the lab as fast as possible, much to the confusion of Daru and Kurisu.

I have to save Mayuri! If I fail again, I would have to time leap again.

I would really prefer not to jump into that void again… but if I failed, then I would have no choice but to time leap again. But I wouldn’t fail. This time, I had an advantage. I know what Moeka would do and when. I should be able to prevent Mayuri from dying this time.

As I steel my resolve, I walk towards Yanabashi Shrine. Rukako and Mayuri were close friends, so perhaps Rukako would have seen her at some point.

_ I will keep Mayuri safe, no matter the cost. _


	2. Chapter 2

_I will keep Mayuri safe, no matter the cost._

My thoughts repeated in my head over and over again, like a broken record. Why? Why did it happen again? I could feel my heart sink as I stared at Mayuri's lifeless body. The white van that ran us over opened its door. Of course, it's Moeka that stepped out. Who else would it be? She killed her on the first timeline, and she killed her again in this one. Sorrow and rage washed over me once again as I see Moeka walk towards me._  
_

Moeka, Mayuri's murderer. Twice now.

"... Okabe Rintarou, scured. Contact the police. Shiina Mayuri is dead." Moeka mumbled into her phone. At that moment, I hated everything about her. Her stupid, pensive eyes. Her whispering, emotionless voice. I hated it. All of it.

"Why? Why did you kill her?" I ask. My voice was dry and scratchy.

"Because you ran away." Moeka responds, nonchalantly.

_Damn it_.

Using the rest of my strength, I manage to jump up from the ground. Before Moeka could react, I tackled her with full force. To be honest, it was pretty satisfying to hear her gasp as I slammed her onto the ground. Ignoring the sharp pain in my legs and lungs, I carried myself to the lab so that I could time leap again.

I failed. Mayuri was dead. But that didn't matter - I have the power of time on my side.

* * *

I stumbled in front of Mr. Brauns Workshop, sweating and out of breath. I didn't see Moeka chase me, but she could have called for backup. I knew that at any moment, a new group of people with guns could show up. Then, it would all be over.

Thankfully, the shop was closed. Consdering what I probably looked like at the moment, Mr. Braun would probably start bombarding me with questions that I couldn't answer if he saw me.

As I opened the door to the lab, I was relieved to find that no one was here. It seemed that since Mayuri and I was running around outside, the Rounders hadn't decided to raid the lab yet... unless they already did?

The thought sent a jolt through my heart. It would make sense. They were only here for the time machine, right? So maybe...

I run to the development room, my heart pounding in my chest. I practically tear the curtains open, and...

Nothing. The Phonewave was still there, in pristine condition. Thank god. I set up the time leap machine to go to the 11th instead of the 13th. I needed as much time as possible. With an extra 45 hours to save Mayuri, there would be no way I could fail. I should be able to save her for sure this time.

I put the headset on and actiavte the Phonewave. Blue sparks start to fill the room.

I dial it from my phone and mentally brace myself for the cold.

I wait.

...

But nothing happens. I didn't feel anything - not the distortion, nausea, freezing cold, the void, anything. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was still standing over the Phonewave. The blue lightning was still flashing, and the room trembled around me.

"What the hell?" I said to myself. This wasn't good. Why am I still here?

Once again, I inputted the settings into the Phonewave and reactivated it. A sense of undeniable dread begins to fill my body. I could feel panic start to set in as I dialed the Phonewave again.

...

Nothing changed.

Nothing.

No.

"No!" I slam the top of the Phonewave with my fist, wincing slightly from the sudden pain. "NO NO NO!"

The phonewave must be broken. But how? Why?

Suddenly, I remember something from the previous timeline.

_The Phonewave had been shot several times. Smoking holes appeared on the Phonewave’s panel. I could see several frayed wires poking out of the machine. That must have been what was producing the sparks._

No. That couldn't be it, could it? That didn't even happen in this damned timeline! There is asbolutely no reason why the Phonewave should, or _could _be damaged right now... unless the Rounders snuck in here and destroyed the Phonewave instead of taking it? Or maybe it somehow carried the damage from the last timeline over?

Wait, no. None of that makes any sense. Stealing the Phonewave so that they could time travel themselves is the reason why Moeka raided the lab in the first place. They wouldn't have a reason to outright destroy it. It couldn't have carried over damage from the last timeline either - this may as well be an entirely new Phonewave. Going back to the past should have reversed any and all damage done to it.

So... why? Has the universe completely forsaken her? Is Mayuri doomed to stay dead forever?

Suddenly, the door slams open, breaking apart my thoughts. I take the headset off and turn around only to be greeted by Moeka, steadily walking towards me. I try to back up, but she grabbed my arm and roughly pulled me away from the Phonewave.

"Ugh!" I grunt in pain as Moeka slammed me into the ground and puts me into an armlock. I couldn't move.

"Your friends have been captured. Give up." Moeka says in her usual listless tone. So even though they got away from the lab, Moeka and her rounders found them anyway. As her words sink into me, I coud feel despair start to claw its way into my heart. I failed to save Mayuri. I failed to change the past. I even failed to save my other friends.

I let Moeka escort me out of the lab and into her van. I knew that there was no use resisting anyway. I lost.

I felt a pair of extremely tight handcuffs snap around my wrists. It was so tight-fitting that some of my skin got caught between the cuffs, causing me to hiss in pain. Still, I didn't protest - I probably would have just been ignored anyway. I felt so powerless.

Moeka opened the back doors to her van and shoved me inside. Since I was handcuffed, I couldn't catch myself. I fell flat on my face. I could feel a cold, dull pain spread through my mouth and nose as I let out an involuntary groan. I didn't even try to get up. It wasn't worth the effort.

I closed my eyes as Moeka slammed the doors shut and got into the drivers seat.

_I'm sorry, Mayuri._

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, Moeka stopped driving. She brought me out from the vehicle and grabbed my wrists. We were in front of a large building, that seemed to be the very description of the word 'nondescript'. There were no windows or signs on it, and it was painted a very dull gray. I looked around - none of the scenergy seemed familiar.

"Come on." Moeka tugged me along to the entrance of the building - two double doors with steel handles.

Is ths where Kurisu and Daru are being held? I'm not sure if I could even handle meeting them right now.

As Moeka dragged me into the building, I noticed that its interior seemed to mirror its exterior. There was barely any decor, save for an analogue clock and a few desks. According to the clock, it wa exactly 11:59. That meant that the ride here probably took over two and a half hours.

"Sit." Moeka pointed at one of the desks. It was a melded combination of a chair and a small table, probably what you would expect to find in a typical middle school. As I moved to sit down, I was suddenly struck by a spell of dizziness. The world around me warped and twisted. Colors started to fade.

How was this possible? This feeling... There was no doubt about it. I'm going through a time leap. But how? The Phonewave was definitely broken. I tried to use it myself.

Moeka tapped on my back. "Hurry up and sit do-"

I didn't get to hear the rest of her words. I time leaped.

* * *

In the blink of an eye, I found myself back at the lab, sitting at the couch. For some reason, I didn't go through the sensation of cold and darkness again. It was weird, but I wasn't complaining.

"What the hell is going on here?" I muttered. I brought my hand up to my head as I waited for the sense of nausea to pass. I brought up my phone with my other hand - it was the 11th, at 3:00 PM. The exact settings that I had inputted into the broken Phonewave.

"Okarin? Are you okay? Your face looks pale..."

Slowly, I turn to my left - there, Mayuri was sitting. Alive, perfectly well, and a look of pure concern on her face. She's alive. I have another chance at saving her. All at once, several emotions course through me - desperation, relief, joy, shock, panic...

"Okarin?" Mayuri stares at me quizzically.

Before I could stop myself, I lean fowards and embrace her tightly.

"Ehhhh? Okarin?" Mayuri sounds shocked, which made sense. I didn't really do things like this often.

"..." I don't respond. I just close my eyes and breathe in. Mayuri is alive again. I have another chance to save her. I don't know why the Phonewave was delayed for so long, but I'm relieved that it worked.

"Woah! Okarin is finally making his move?!" Itaru shouts from the other side of the room. "Go die, normie!"

"Don't overreact, Daru." I say as I pull away from Mayuri. I probably shouldn't have done that. I'm just going to feel more pressure from myself to save her now.

"Woah, are you crying dude?" Itaru blinks and rubs the back of his head. "Uh, you know I was just joking when I told you to die, right?"

I bring my fingers to my cheeks. It was as he said - there were tears. I was crying, huh? I didn't even realize.

"Don't be said Okarin!" Mayuri smiles warmly at me. "Youcan hug Mayushii anytime you need to, okay?"

I nod noncommitally and turn back to Itaru. "Daru, do you know where Christina is?" I had enough presence in my mind to know that getting her help on this matter would probably be a good idea.

"Huh? She's back there with the Phonewave." Itaru says, jerking back to the development room with his thumb. "Don't you remember saying that she was going to upgrade it?"

Something was wrong with the Phonewave. I tried to time leap with it twice, and both times, something unexpected happened. I probably experienced higher shock then I should have while using it, plus yellow sparks were appearing. And during the second leap, the effects of the time leap were delayed for several hours. Maybe she could fix those flaws if I explained them to her.

I put my phone back into my pocket and went into the backroom. Sure enough, Kurisu was there, tinkering with the Phonewave.

"Christina?"

...

No response. She seemed to have not even noticed I was there.

"Hey, Christina." I take another step forwards and raise my voice. "Celeb 17! The Zombie! You there?!"

...

This wasn't going anywhere. I rolled my eyes and extended my hand out to shake her shoulder.

"Ah!" Kurisu jumped in her seat and dropped a screwdriver that she was holding. She turned around, expresion already filled with annoyance.

"Jeezz Okabe, I told you not to bother me while I'm working! This is important. What do you want?"

"I'm from two days in the future." I deadpan. Better to go straight to the point and not waste any time - I was on a tight schedule. "I used your time leap machine."

Instead of acting surprised, Kurisu just huffed and glared at me. "I don't have time for your delusions right now, Okabe. Can't you leave me alone for a bit?"

... Alright, maybe I should try something else.

"Look, I'm telling you this as Okabe, not Kyouma, alright? Kurisu, just listen to me. This is important."

Kurisu blinks. After a moment she gasped and stood up from the chair. "Wait, seriously? You used the time leap machine? So it worked, right! I knew it! Wait, why did you time leap? Did something happen?"

I took a step back as Kurisu starts bombarding me with questions. I guess trying to act serious was enough to convince her that I wasn't lying. Just a second ago, she was calling me delusional. Honestly, I'm surprised that she could be so quick to change her mind. "You sure turned around quickly, huh?"

Kurisu pauses her overflow of questions and glares at me. "Well, if you're willing to throw away your udmb mad scientist persona, then this is probably a serious issue, isn't it? Just get on with the explanation already.

"Fine, fine." Taking a deep breath, I started with my recount of everything that happened, starting with the first time leap. This was going to take a while.

* * *

"... And then, I suddenly time leapt after several hours of delay. So here I am." I exhale and shake my head. It took around fifteen minutes to finish up the entire story. It seemed so surreal, retelling it all. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't experience it myself.

Kurisu stayed quiet throughout my entire explanation, save for some occasional mutters.

"I was thinking that either the Phonewave somehow leaped in time itself, or that it was built with a malfunction in place. That would explain why it broke in both world lines."

"Both of those explanations are impossibe." Kurisu says, dismissing my concerns with a simple wave of her hand. "I wouldn't mess this up and the time leap machine can't transport objects."

"Are you serious? How can you say that stuff so confidently?" I challenge.

Kurisu rolls her eyes. "So, when you FIRST used the time leap machine, the blue light appeared as normal, correct?"

I nod my head.

"But after being shot, it started producing yellow sparks, indicating damage. if I messed up on the time leap machine, it would have been sending out sparks even before it was shot. So I didn't mess up. And it's impossible that it could have carried over damage in the first place. It can only carry over data, remember?"

That... was true. I'm surprised that I didn't realize it sooner. I guess I just had other things on my mind.

"Alright, get out of here." Kurisu abruptly interrupts my thoughts.

"Huh?" I blink. What's with this woman? I pour out an eitre story about time travel and Mayuri's death, and she doesn't even spend more than two minutes to try and figure it out?

"I need to finish the time leap machine! We can discuss this later. Just get out of here for now." Kurisu huffs.

"Can you at least call me when you finish it? I would like to confirm that it doesn't somehow end up damaged."

"Whatever. Just get out of here." Kurisu sits back down and picks up her dropped screwdriver.

Even If I did question her skills, I wish she wouldn't be so rude. I walk out of the development room and found myself standing in front of Mayuri and Itaru.

"Hey man, you're acting weirder than usual. I mean, I've literally never seen you cry before. Is something up?"

"Maysuhii is worried too..."

I can't let them know about this. Who knows what effects it will have on the timeline if I let Mayuri know about her future death? I can't exactly trust Itaru not to blab to her about it either. Besides, they probably wouldn't be able to do much to help out. They were my friends, but they had limits. There was no use worrying them about this.

"BWAHAHAHAHHA!" I bellowed. "Fear not, my super hacka! The organization just slipped some drugs into my food! That display was naught but a sham put on by the organization in order to disrupt our work flow and lower team morale! Forget everything you just saw! It was just a foolish attempt at sabotage."

Daru's face dropped. "Anddddd, he's back to normal. It was kind of refreshing for you to be normal for once, you know?"

"Don't overdo it, okay Okarin?" Mayuri smiles at me gently, seemingly unphased by my over the top words.

I walked past them and sat down on the couch. There wasn't much I can do while waiting for Kurisu to finish her upgrade. Perhaps I should have just leapt to when it was finished instead.

At least I know my priority. After she finishes, I _will _save Mayuri.

I couldn't possibly fail now, could I?


	3. Chapter 3

_ I'm trapped. _

_ There's no escape. _

I fall deeper into despair as these thoughts cover my mind. It latched onto my mind like a parasitic cloud, sucking away any hope I might have held. I could feel the cold sweat rolling down my forehead, leaving behind trails of burning frost. I knew I couldn't keep this up for much longer. Already, my legs were trembling, threatening to betray my body by collapsing. My arms were getting more sore by the minute, and it felt like that at any minute, they would snap in two.

But I had to keep going. There was no choice. I had to save her…

_ Mayrui! _

I let out an involuntary groan as the weight shifts in my arm. This was it. I’d failed.

_ I’m sorry, Mayrui… I couldn’t help you. _

“Okarin!” Mayrui pops into my view with a cheerful smile. She happily shoves another bag full of cosplay supplies onto the already gargantuan pile in my arms. “Here you go!”

“Gah! M-Mayuri! I’m already at my limit here!” I snap. “If my arms were to be crushed under these weights, the organization would be quick to take advantage of my state and kidnap me! If both of my arms are broken, then I would be forced to rely upon only my wit to escape their merciless agents!”

“Um, Kyouma?” Rukako taps on my shoulder. With some effort, I manage to turn my head and shoot her a questioning gaze. She had been dragged along this shopping expedition by Mayuri as well. Even after what surely must have been hundreds, if not thousands of rejections, she still regularly asks Rukako to cosplay. “I can help you carry some of those if you want.” 

“Ah, Rukako. No, I’m fully capable of carrying these burdens myself. It’s no matter.” I say confidently. As I say that, some sort of plastic bag filled with pink thread falls from the top of the pile and lands at Rukako’s feet.

“Are you sure?”

“... Well, if you’re offering, perhaps you could pick that up for me.” I say with a red face. “And… possibly carry one or two bags I suppose.”

I sigh as Rukako smiles and grabs a handful of bags from my arms. Even though she had volunteered, my pride seemed to have suffered damage anyway, as if I had forced her to help. 

Her? No wait, Rukako’s a male.

Or, he used to be male. We turned him into a girl with that D-mail, didn’t we?

Bah, this is getting too complicated.

“Rukako!” Mayuri skips up and holds a skimpy dress up to her face. “You would look so cute in something like this! Right?”

“Mayuri, it would be embarrassing to wear that in public.” She replies with a downcast expression.

“Awww, but you would be so popular!” Mayuri complains. She turns to me with a stubborn pout on her face. “Okarin, wouldn’t Rukako look cute with this on?”

“Yeah, sure. Are you just about finished shopping yet? I’d like to have control of my hands again.” I say, brushing off her question. Honestly, I wasn’t paying too much attention to their conversation. I was just concentrating on not getting heatstroke or dropping anything else.

“Eh? Kyouma you… really think so?” Rukako stares at me with a growing blush.

Then, I realized what I had agreed to.

“Oh, that is… ah, I mean…” 

“Cute is Justice!” Mayuri chirps.

I sigh. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

“Look here, Okabe.” Kurisu pointed at the Phonewave’s inner parts. She had opened a side panel, exposing its components and inner workings, which basically consisted of an ocean of colored wires and circuitry.

She had finally finished upgrading the Phonewave. After she was done, she called me on the phone to come to the lab and take a look at it. I knew that it was impossible for it to be damaged, but I just wanted to confirm it with my own eyes. Didn’t hurt to be sure, right?

“I put the finishing touches on the Phonewave. And as you can see, no broken wires.” Kurisu said. “Just like I said.”

“So this means that it really doesn’t carry over damage from timelines.” I muttered.

“Again, just like I said!” Kurisu huffs and glares at me. “Are you saying that you didn’t believe me?”

“Hey, I’m just telling you what happened!” I protest. What was with her anyway? “It’s not like I wanted you to be wrong or anything.”

“It was probably just unfinished in the previous world line. You rushed me out of the lab, right? I was probably planning to double check the Phonewave, but couldn’t and missed something.” Kuirsu says with a wave of her hand. “Anyway, what I really want to talk to you about is Mayuri. Does she really die today?”

I put both of my hands on the table and take a deep breath. Again, I was forced to realize the grim truth of this situation. “If this timeline is anything like the other two, then yes. Moeka and her men will break into this lab at around eight and shoot her. I’ve tried taking her away from the lab, but Moeka finds us anyway! She just… dies.”

Suddenly, I hear a loud clanking noise outside.

“Huh?” I rush to the window. There, I see Suzuha on the ground with her bike next to her.

“Suzuha?” 

Her pale face meets mine. She’s trembling.

_ Crap. She must have heard me. _

Before I could say anything else, she suddenly picks up her bike and speeds away! She didn’t even look back.

“Wha- Hey! Suzuha, wait!” I shout after her. But it was no use. She was already almost out of sight, just a shrinking dot.

I curse and run out the door to chase after her.

“Okabe! What happened? What are you doing?!” Kurisu shouts at me.

I didn’t have any time to waste, so I ignored her question. Judging by Suzuha’s reaction, she must have overheard me talking about Mayrui’s death. This was all too suspicious. It was already obvious that Suzuha wasn’t who she said she was - Being able to disarm those armed men, and claiming that Kurisu’s a SERN spy was enough to raise my suspicions. If she knew something that could help our situation, then I had to go after her.

As I run in the direction she went, I pull up my phone and hastily scroll to her name in my contacts. Perhaps if I called her, I could convince her to talk to me.

…

She picked up!

“Suzuha! I need to ask you something!” I shout while running.

“Okabe… I’m sorry.” Suzuha says softly. “It’s probably my fault.”

“What?”

“It’s because I depend on you guys… So I’m going, this time for sure. Bye.”

What the hell is she talking about?

“Wait, Suzu-” She hangs up on me. I guess I have no choice but to chase her after all.

* * *

Finally, after some running around, I noticed that the satellite on Radio Kaikan’s roof was glowing. There were revolving lights on. Several onlookers were pointing at it and gasping in surprise.

Was she in the satellite? In a previous timeline, Suzuha had ran away just like this time during the rain. Right after she did, the satellite had vanished. That could have been written off as a coincidence, but it was happening again. There’s no way this was unrelated!

Wait a minute. She’s also related to John Titor, wasn’t she? Suzuha said that her father went by the name of Barrel Titor. The same last name as Titor…. What if…?

Was the satellite actually a time machine?

Empowered by these thoughts, I rushed into the building. I have to stop her before she travels through time!

Since everyone was distracted by the lights, I managed to get to the stairs easier than expected. Jumping up the stairs three steps at a time, I quickly make my way to where the satellite was. On the 8th floor, there was a silhouette moving around inside of the satellite.

“Suzuha!” I shout.

It stops moving. After a tense pause, the silhouette starts making its way out.

“Okabe…” Suzuha stares at me with dejected eyes. She was crying. Her fingertips were red and swollen.

“What are you doing?!”

“It won’t move.” She won’t meet my eyes. Black smoke trails out of the inside of the satellite. I could smell the aroma of fire even from meters away.

“Suzuha, that’s… That’s a time machine, isn’t it? You’re a time traveler.”

Suzuha nods. “Yes. I’m… John Titor.”

“I thought John Titor was a guy?” In my shock, that was all I could really think to say. I instantly regretted saying something so dumb.

Suzuha smiles sadly. “I guess you could say that it was a part of my disguise.”

“Why do you need a disguise?”

Her smile quickly turns into a frown. “I’m hiding from SERN.”

“Was the stuff you posted about true?”

“Yes.” Her frown deepens. “Well, most if it. I really did come from 2036 in this time machine.”

“Didn’t Titor - Erm, you say that the time machine was a Chevy?” I decided to ask her about Titor’s claims from 2000.

I’ve been thinking about that since you emailed me about this supposed 2000 Titor. That was probably me from a different world line. The me that you’re seeing didn’t stop at that time.”

“Answer me this, Suzuha. Why did you rush to the time machine? I know that you overheard my conversation with Kurisu, but…”

Instead of responding Suzuha asks me about it. “Is it true? Does Mayuri really get killed by SERN?”

I nod. “It’s true. The raid should begin in about five hours. I time leaped from the future.”

“Time leap… So you guys completed your machine.” She looks at me thoughtfully.

“More importantly, why do you think that this is your fault?” She probably didn’t inform SERN about our whereabouts or anything, so she shouldn’t bear any responsibility for the raid on our lab… right?

“I’ll tell you everything.” She says grimly. “You and Makise Kurisu.”

I don’t know why she trusts Kurisu all of the sudden, but as long as he tells me what’s going on, I wouldn’t complain.

I notice her burnt hand and offer her a handkerchief.

“... Thanks.” Suzuha smiles.”

“It’s nothing. Let’s just get back to the lab. Then, you can tell us everything.”


	4. Chapter 4

***A/N* Info dump!**

* * *

“I came from the future, 2036. In that era, SERN’s ruling dystopia eradicated all strife, but also stole away all personal freedoms.”

Back at the lab, Suzuha explains about the future she came from. According to her, SERN rules over the world due to their monopoly on time machines.

“Diss-tope-ear?” Mayuri stares at Suzuha quizzically. As expected, she was having trouble understanding the topic.

“An extremely regulated society. Totalitarianism. So even if you wanted to eat a banana, you wouldn’t be allowed to if it wasn’t a banana eating day. If you eat one then you get put in jail without a trial. That’s a dystopia.” Kuirsu helps break down a dystopia for Mayuri. Bananas, huh? Clever girl.

“That’s terrible! Mayushi loves bananas…” Mayuri looks devastated.

“I fight to free the world from SERN’s rule as part of the Resistance. The reason I time traveled to this era… is to change that ‘present’. It’s the future for you guys, I guess.” Suzuha frowns. “So, change the future.”

“What about your father? Are you really looking for him?” Mayuri asks, staring at her with wide eyes. It was a pretty good point. Barrel Titor could just be an excuse for Suzuha. I don’t remember anything about a Barrel Titor in any of the posts on @channel, anyway.

She tilts her head down, keeping a brief silence. After a moment, she looks back up with hardened eyes. “No. I really am looking for him.”

“Getting back on topic…” Kurisu says. “Why would SERN be ruling over the world? They are a research institution, not a governing body. I’ve mentioned this to Titor online many times.”

A lightbulb goes off in my head. What did Kurisu say? Online? That could only mean…

“Christina! Don’t tell me… Are you the channeler known as KuriGohan and Kamehameha?” I blurt out.

Kurisu’s face turns red, confirming my hypothesis. “I told you, don’t call me Chrstina! Besides, if Titor reveals herself, it’s only fair that I do to.”

I suppose that makes sense. In that case, I better reveal my identity as well.

“Very well. It would also only be fair for me to reveal my alias too! I am the user known as HOUOUIN KY-”

“We know.” Suzuha and Kurisu both interrupt me at the same time and with the same deadpan tone.

“Ah, you harmonized!” Mayuri says giddily.

“Anyway, SERN is still a research institution in 2036.” Suzuha says, driving the discussion back on topic. “But they have a backing group known as the  _ Council of 300 _ . They are the ones who pull the strings.

“What? The C-Council of 300?!” I stammer That was the same name that appeared in the SERN documents!

“With that said… “ Suzuha sharpens her gaze at Kurisu. “Makise Kurisu, in the future, you are revered as the Mother of the Time Machine.”

“What? Revered?!” Kurisu asks in disbelief.

“After finishing the Time Leap machine, the Kurisu in the future greatly contributes to SERN’s efforts in making a time machine.” Suzuha continues.

Ah. If the future Kurisu worked with SERN, then that would certainly explain Suzuha’s innate hatred for her.

“So what about me?” I ask.

“Okabe Rintarou is a fairly infamous terrorist who fought against SERN.” She replies casually.

“Seriously? A terrorist?” That’s pretty disappointing. Though, being a terrorist against SERN  _ does  _ sound pretty cool.

“I participated in SERN’s time machine development? I don’t believe that. SERN carried out human experimentation, you know. I have no intention of collaborating with such a disgrace to the scientific community.” Kurisu says with venom. She really sounds as if she hates SERN.

“Well, that’s how it goes in the future.” Suzuha says coolly.

“What does the future me talk about?” Kurisu presses.

“We never met. By 2036, you’re dead.”

“What? Seriously? I don’t even make it past fifty?” She looks crestfallen.

“If it makes you feel better, Okabe is dead by 2036 as well.”

“You can’t just drop that bombshell out of nowhere!” I snap, glaring at Suzuha. I could have lived without knowing when I drop dead.

“Sorry.” Suzuha softens her gaze. “As for why Kurisu works with SERN… Well, it’s possible that theft ook your parents hostage.”

“No way.” Kurisu pales.

I nod. It seemed pretty plausible that they would be able to do that. I’ve seen firsthand how many men they had. “They probably have Rounders stationed in both America and Japan.”

“Rounders?” Daru asks with a questioning look. Surprisingly, he had been quiet for the whole time we were talking.

“SERN’s mercenary group, I think.”

Suzuha nods in affirmation. “Their cover is a technical investigation group, independent from SERN. Though inr reality, they are the ones who do the dirty work for them.”

“Hey, earlier you said that most of the stuff you posted as John Titor was true.” Kurisu suddenly says. “So what parts were false?”

“Well for one, the structure of the world. It isn’t the many-worlds or Wheeler theory. By 2036, the official structure for the world are more like attractor fields.”

That’s right. Titor told me about this over the mail.

“What does that mean?” Kurisu asks.

“The world is made of attractor fields and world lines.” Suzuha says, taking a red yarn ball out of Mayuri’s costume sewing set. She holds one end of the yarn and drops the ball on the floor. She stretches out about a meter of the yarn in front of her face to show it to us. “The world structure is like a piece of yarn. The entirety looks like one piece, but at the micro level, the world is organized like intertwined threads. And at the end, those fine threads converge into one. The paths are different, but the ends are the sa-”

“Isn’t that determinism?” Kurisu interrupts.

Suzuha huffs, visibly annoyed at being cut off. “Kind of. You could say that it cherry-picks from the many-worlds interpretation and the Copenhagen interpretation.”

“Does this mean that at the end, there’s only one possibly future?” Realization dawns upon me. If that was true, then…

_ Is Mayuri fated to die? _

“Exactly. And the different colored yarns are different attractor fields.” SUzuha holds up a bundle of colored yarns, also from Mayuri’s sewing set. “Each has their own respectful world lines. Say, the one we are in is attractor field Alpha.”

“In Japanese please.” Daru scratches the back of his head.

“It’s kind of like fate. In each world line, there are different choices you can make, but they all enter the same ending. But if that’s true, then is the future unshakable?” I’m unable to keep desperation out of my voice. This can’t be true, can it?

“As long as you stay in the same attractor field, then the future can’t change. In order to change the future, you need to travel to a different attractor field, say attractor field Beta.” Suzuha says.

“Won’t you be interfered with?” Kurisu questions.

“Attractor fields completely diverge. But if we travel right as they diverge then we could do it. I was taught that in 2010, there was a large crossroads in the divergence. An earth shattering divergence, on par with ones that appeared in 2000 and 1991.”

“Um, why 2000 and 1991?” Mayuri stares at Suzuha with fascination. I’m kind of surprised that she was able to keep up at all with our conversation.

“Global scale events happened in those years. And there’s also one that happens in 2010.”

“Events?” I ask.

“In 1991, it was the collapse of the USSR. In 2000, it was the Y2K problem.” Suzuha explains.

“Hey, wait a sec.” Daru raises his hand. “The Y@K wasn’t anything special. It was just a bunch of hype that turned out to be nothing.”

“It wasn’t an issue in the alpha world line. But it was a problem in others.” Suzuha says. “And in 2010, the event was the creation of the time leap machine.” 

“Are these world lines parallel?” Kurisu asks.

“No. At the end, they just happen to exist at the same time. This means that normally, you wouldn’t be able to observe changes in the world lines.”

She frowns. “So how…?

Suzuha points at me. “Okabe, for whatever reason, has the ability to observe the passage of time.”

“Reading Steiner…” I mutter.

She nods. “You have the power of a god. You are the key to saving the world from SERN’s rule.”

A sudden rush of adrenaline shoots through my heart. It felt like every single hair on my body was standing up, as if I was shocked. “I…”

Meanwhile, Kurisu seemed to be much less excited. “Seriously?  _ Okabe? _ ”

“I-If I change the world line, does that mean… She can be s-saved?” My voice is trembling from excitement.

Suzuha nods.

“Hold on a sec. This all seems a bit too detailed. This isn’t some sort of delusion or anything, is it? How do you know everything about this?” Kurisu asks. She does have a point - Suzuha almost knows  _ too  _ much.

“It’s not a delusion. All of this info was written in my father’s will.”

“Barrel Titor?” I ask. Just who in the world is her father anyway?

“Yes. I’m here to fulfill his last wish.” Suzuha averts her gaze. “Anyway, I believe the main cause for SERN noticing you guys, is the first email you sent back in time.”

“So, it wasn’t that they caught us hacking?”

“Dude, no one can catch me hacking.” Daru puffs out his chest. “I’m a super hacker after all!”

Mayuri gasps. “Wasn’t that mail the one that said Kurisu dies?”

“Ah.” Kurisu sighs. “I almost forgot about that.”

“SERN has a worldwide network called Echelon to catch any email that has any mention of time travel. They probably caught yours with it all the way back then.”

Echelon?! I’ve heard about that on conspiracy forums. So, it really does exist?

“In order to hack into the Echelon and delete any traces of your email, you need the IBN 5100.” Suzuha continues. “Their database is constructed using it.”

“Damn! Daru, why didn’t you use the IBIN earlier?!” I almost pound my fist in frustration. All of this could have been avoided if we had just done that first!

“What are you talking about man?” Daru shakes his head. “We never had an IBN 5100.”

“Huh? But I brought one here earlier.” But as I say that, I remember about the fact that I’m probably in a different world line then when I got one.

Suzuha clears her throat. “My role is to obtain an IBN 5100 for you guys. Unfortunately, I don’t have one at the moment. I was supposed to go to 1975 to get one, but I stopped here to look for my father. Unfortunately…”

“Your time machine broke, right?” I glance at her burnt hand. Small specks of blood are visible on the handkerchief I gave her.

“Can you fix it?” Kurisu asks.

“No.” Suzuha says sadly. “My father built it all on his own.”

“What about the Time Leap machine then? Leap to before it broke.” Kurisu suggests.

“Woah, hold on. Didn’t we say that we weren’t going to use it?” Daru asks.

I still haven’t told Daru I’ve time leaped. Trying to explain it now would be a pain. “If it’s an emergency, we’ll use it.”

“It probably broke when it rained from the other night. The interior was soaked, even though it’s supposed to be air tight.” Suzuha says.

“Was it damaged from the crash?” Daru ponders.

“No. WHen I time traveled, the coordinates were a bit off. So the satellite just… appeared there.”

“It rained on the 10th. The Time Leap machine can only go back 48 hours at a time. So this means that we can travel back far enough.” I shake my head. “So, time leaping is out of the question.”

“I can try to fix it!” Daru pumps his fist. “I could probably get the thing up and running.”

“Our deadline is three hours.” I sigh.

“Oh.” Daru slowly lowers his hand, dejected. “That may be an issue then.”

I pull a 10,000 yen bill from my wallet and hand it to Daru. “Go shopping for a bit with Mayuri. Bring back some food.”

“Huh?” Daru stares at me suspiciously. “That’s pretty sudden. What’s the big deal?”

“Just do it.” I say firmly.

“Fine… Come on Mayuri.” Daru rises and stumbles towards the door.

“Oooh! Mayushi is going to get some bananas.” Mayuri cheerfully trails after Daru.

I waited until they closed the door. Then, I explained my plan to Kurisu and Suzuha. “Alright. In order to give us some more time to repair the time machine, I’m going to time leaap to the 11th. Better 2 days than 3 hours, right? THen, Suzuha will be able to get an IBN for us.”

Kurisu nods. “Sounds fine to me.”

“Alright, let us commence the operation.” I started towards the Time Leap machine.

“Hey, not gonna name this one?” Kurisu smirks. “Did you finally run out of Norse mythology?”

“Aren’t you always saying the name doesn’t matter?” I shoot back.

“Norse?” Suzuha blinks. “Come to think of it, operations in the resistance normally uses German and Norse names. It was always a tradition.”

Kurisu shakes her head in apparent disgust. “That hipster stuff still exists even in a dystopia, huh?”

“Fine, whatever!” I clear my throat. “Operation Valhalla begins…”

“Now!”


End file.
